"A small group of suspected Maoists carried out repeated attacks (on Reddy) in a flash with sharp-edged weapons at Basaguda village weekly market," said Bijapur's Superintendent of Police Prashant Agrawal.

He added that a severely-injured Reddy tried to run away but insurgents took hold of him and kept attacking him.

The assailants managed to escape after leaving Reddy in a pool of blood.

The attack was carried out in full public view and some eye witnesses called in Sanjivani Express, a free ambulance service, but Reddy died on the way to district headquarters Bijapur.

Top police officials have blamed Maoists for the nerve-racking killing of the 51-year-old Reddy, who was trusted by the media fraternity of Chhattisgarh for years for his factual reporting from Bijapur where thousands of tribal families have been caught in crossfire between Maoists and police since late 1980s.

Reddy's murder has reminded the chilling, brutal killing of a journalist, Nemichand Jain, in February this year by Maoists in Bastar region where the ultras run a parallel government in vast forested interiors.